New Division of High School Teams Prepare for CyberPatriot Competition

Open Division Begins Preliminary Rounds This Saturday

ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 150 teams from public, private, parochial and home schools across the nation are preparing for the first round in the Open Division of the CyberPatriot competition this Saturday, November 13.

CyberPatriot is the one-of-a-kind nationwide cybersecurity competition produced by the Air Force Association (AFA), a nonprofit organization headquartered near Washington, D.C. Its unique structure provides students hands-on learning about cyber defense and a chance to win scholarship money and an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation's capital.

The competition has two divisions, an Open Division and an All-Services Division, which consists of JROTC units of all Services and Civil Air Patrol squadrons. The 400-plus All-Services Division began competing in October.

In all, more than 650 teams have registered to participate in this year's competition.

Each team, made up of five students and an approved coach, virtually battles to competitively solve vulnerabilities in computer networks using software provided by CyberPatriot. Teams are scored according to how quickly and effectively they establish and maintain secure networks.

CyberPatriot was originally designed in 2008 to inspire students to consider the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields in their studies, as well as educate them on cybersecurity.

"CyberPatriot is reaching thousands of high school students, and we are seeing them become more and more enthralled with cybersecurity," said Bernie Skoch, CyberPatriot Commissioner. "Cyber defense continues to be a crucial national security issue and hopefully this competition will encourage students to further investigate opportunities and careers in cybersecurity and technology."

The Open Division is set to begin competing at 10:00 A.M., EDT.

CyberPatriot is presented by Northrop Grumman, with founding partners SAIC and the CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio. More information on CyberPatriot can be found at www.uscyberpatriot.org.

The AFA is a 501(C)(3), nonprofit organization promoting public understanding of aerospace power and the pivotal role it plays in the security of the nation. AFA has over 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing 120,000 members.

SOURCE Air Force Association